Get Ready for Italian Tanks

Late last year, we announced that two new European nations will be coming in 2018: Poland and Italy. The supertest of Progetto M35 mod 46 in January revealed that the new nation’s tech tree would be full of Mediterranean machines. As Progetto’s brethren roll out for a supertest, we want to give you a little heads-up about these new kids on the block.

The first post-1.0 update will unleash 11 Italian medium tanks reinforcing the game with the tenth Tech Tree. Tiers I–VII retrace the history of the nation’s tankbuilding, from Italy’s early tank designs at lower tiers through to post-WWII machines at mid-to-higher tiers. But the cherry on the cake are Tiers VIII–X with a new gun system, a hybrid between an autoloader and a regular gun. This Italian revolver of sorts, called “autoreloader,” can automatically reload a shell in the drum even when the drum is not empty yet.

Historical Spotlight

The new branch of mediums covers three periods of Italian tank design: the timid first steps, the catch-up and post-war, western-oriented.

The timid first steps: Out in front in terms of tank design at the time was the French. The Italian tanks drew inspiration from, or more blatantly copied, French designs but over time experimented with their own ideas. Distinguishing features were light armor and various gun calibers.

Catch-up Phase: Attempting to reach the standard set by the most developed tank-building nations, it was about more firepower and thicker armor. Originally started to produce heavies, it was actually mediums that made it off the production line.

Post-war, Western-oriented: Now it was all about mobility, excellent firepower, good angles of depression and insignificant armor. How times had changed…

Tiers I–VII Overview

The first thing you will notice straight off the bat is the choice between the M14/41 and L6/40 at Tier II. Similar when it boils down to game characteristics, both tanks left a huge mark in Italian armored vehicular history. We’re paying homage to them by adding both for you to try. The M14/41 won’t impress you with its speed, but can show who’s who to its peers working a solid 47mm gun. The L6/40 sports excellent for its tier speed and a 20 mm machine gun. Learn more about these mass-produced duo and their elder brethren and get ready to work your way up the Italian tree!

Tier VIII and Upwards – Autoreloader

You’re free to use higher-tier Italians as a single shot tank, or as a clip thanks to a new loading mechanic. Basically, it’s a combination of a drum and single shot system. As soon as you fire, the drum begins to reload. The more shells you have in the clip, the faster it loads the empty part of the magazine. The first shell takes the longest to reload, and it speeds up from there. If you fire again, before the shell is reloaded, the reloading is interrupted and starts anew.

“How can I leverage it then,” you ask? Here’s a simple tip: analyze what’s happening on the battlefield and use the drum situationally. Empty your clip when you know you’ll have time to reload. Single-shot when you need to get someone down to where they can then be clipped out. This way, you can offer sustained fire and your enemy won’t know where you’re at in terms of re-loading. Besides, you never have to worry about managing your clip reload—it always starts re-loading when you fire. Now that we’re done with the autoreloader basics, let’s take a closer look at vehicles that come with it.

Tier VIII – P.44 Pantera

Let’s kick things off with the Tier VIII P.44 Pantera—the first in the branch to have that feature you’ve all been waiting for – the auto-reloading drum.

The Pantera was one of the variants sparked by a project that was developed during the Second World War. Work on the medium tank never made it past the preliminary design stage.

With a long-barreled 90mm cannon, good depression and mobility, it can occupy advantageous positions. The new mechanic means that the tank can feel more at home at close and medium distances but just be cautious when at long-range.

Tier IX – Prototipo Standard B

Stemming from a group of prototypes developed and manufactured during the Kampfpanzer Standard program which Italy first took part in in 1958. In collaboration with Ingeniuerbüro Warn-eke, Rheinstahl Hanomag, Henschel and Rheinmetall, only two models were produced under the program. After extensive testing, preference was given to the group “A” prototypes, which after further work came to be known more commonly as the Leopard 1.

The first post-WWII tank in the Italian tree, it bears a striking resemblance to the German proto-type Leopard in terms of dimensions and silhouette. As with the Pantera, the Prototipo also features the new mechanic. Possessing a 105mm gun and a similar angles of depression, this tank could be seen as the direct descendant of the Tier X Progetto. This means you can hone your tactics in preparation for unlocking the Tier X steel beast.

As with the Pantera, the tank performs well at close and medium distances but the Leopard’s inherent weak armor still means you need to be careful.

Tier X – Progetto M40 mod 65

In 1969, a military delegation from Italy visited Germany to discuss purchasing Leopard tanks. However, not all the delegates agreed with the idea of acquiring foreign tanks. The Italian military and constructors outlined their basic wishes: decent depression, cast turret and gun mantlet and the powerful Mitsubishi engine. Their wishes resulted in the creation of a small, light, mobile but well protected tank.

During the design process, British and Soviet developments were taken into account. Other than further drawings and blueprints, the tank never went any further.

Futuristic form and better gun characteristic with the new mechanics make it possible to fully unleash the skills acquired from the tanks further down the tech branch and the Italian premium. The Progetto M40 mod 65’s good depression and mobility will help you occupy advantageous positions on the battlefield. As at Tiers VIII and IX, the tank performs well at close to medium distances but the armor isn’t something to be relied upon, other than possible bouncing of shells from the hull and turret.

*The models of the Italian vehicles above are not finalised yet*.

With the Italian tech tree, a new Premium consumable will be implemented. No, it’s not pizza as you’d assume, but the pinnacle of Italian cuisine: Spaghetti. Let’s hope it doesn’t get tangled in any machinery.

As you can see, these high-tier tanks have a consistent play style meaning each progression up the branch won’t be jarring and the skills you hone at Tier VIII will benefit you at Tier X.

23 comments on “Get Ready for Italian Tanks”

I was expecting the OTO Centauro to be after the Prototipo B, since it shared some same stats as the Leo 1 and of course would be a logical progression.
Nevertheless, the tier 10 looks beastly and futuristic!

The tier 8 and 10 are completely fictional, with the tier 8 having no basis in reality whatsoever, not even a concept or idea, while the tier 10 was only ever just that, an idea for a tank incorporating certain elements, and never even reached napkin stage. The tier 9 is a real vehicle, a German one. And never mounted any kind of autoloader, nor did it have anything at all to do with Italy. Wargaming couldn’t even choose the proper clones to use for the tree. So to recap, tiers 7 through 10 are all pretty much fake for Italy, which puts even the Chinese tree to shame in terms of fictional vehicles.

Actually tier VIII exixted as far as proof of concept: in late 1943 Germany considered to producing a Panther derivate (instead of the P-43Bis) with the Italian 90mm, which was available in decent number and, believe it or not, had better ballistic performances then the standard 88 on the Tiger: the only limit was lack of proper AP rounds for this gun. For sure the autoloading system is fictional at this stage since it was a system meant for upgrading M47 and Leo1 developed MUCH later. Details, like wheel train, turret etc are entirely fictional.

Sorry, but no, that is complete and utter bullshit and isn’t even remotely historical in the slightest. There is no historical basis for a modified Italian Panther of any description, nor were any ideas or plans drawn up. Hell, unlike the tier 10, there isn’t even a vague idea behind it either, except for ideas put forth by Zarax ages ago. Stop spreading misinformation on the Italian tanks, it’s bad enough Wargaming is pulling almost everything out of its ass.

Hell, for that matter the tier 7 P.43ter is completely fictional too, no P.43 project at ALL was ever planned to use the 90/53 cannon, and only the P.43bis was planned to use the 90/42 cannon. So there isn’t any large number of 90mm cannon you speak of, let alone a Panther project to put it on. This tier 8 Pantera makes the Waffle E 100 look fully historical.

Nope: just a concept required by Kesserling for producing Panther in Northern Italy (instead of the P.43Bis) using available 90mm guns which was ballistically excellent, but proper AP rounds were never developed.